College Football Week II - Sooners of the past or Sooners with integrity?

This Saturday will bring an interesting scenario to Los Angeles as the Oklahoma Sooners roll into town 1-1 and could easily be 0-2 but for a 4th quarter wake-up call against Tulsa led by Adrian Peterson. Speaking of the star running back, he was suspended from practice this week for missing class. According to the News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, athletes are suspended from missing practice not for missing 1 class, but 4 classes. FOUR CLASSES! Classes in Norman started August 22nd. He missed four classes in less than a month?!? Wow! Academic diligence! Here's hoping the University does the right thing and sits Adrian down for the game sending the message that college football is a privilege that is earned. His teammates were able to make their classes. Is it not equitable to ask the same from the Heisman candidate and arguably a leader on the team? And what's worse is Bob Stoops "deciding as the week goes" whether Peterson will play. That is the equivalent of "you go to the corner and think about what you did." Either you have rules or you don't. Maybe Castiglione needs to step in as Stoops may have problems accepting that academics comes first when his team is struggling against such powers at TCU and Tulsa.

Thumbs Up to: Vanderbilt for starting 2-0 with both wins coming on the road. Winning in Winston-Salem is one thing, but to win at Arkansas is huge.

Thumbs Down to: Lou Holtz. Let's hope last weekend was a one weekend audition for the former coach as a potential replacement for Trev Alberts in the studio. Holtz added little to the commentary and talks to the camera as if football fans are little children being led to naptime. Plus you just want to mail him an ethics book that is signed "the fans from Notre Dame and Gamecock County." Give me a former coach who won without a cloud of suspicion over his head as you have to wonder how credible Holtz truly is.

Thumbs Up to: Alabama. While ESPN was already searching for potential replacements for Mike Shula during the early third quarter of the game versus Southern Miss, the Crimson Tide were methodically wearing down the Golden Eagles and winning a game they might have lost in recent years. Give him time though this weekend's game vs. Spurrier looms large in his job security.

Thumbs Down to: Pitt. You lost the AD to Nebraska. You let the coach go to Stanford. And you bring in a football coach that was okay at best in the NFL. Youngstown State can not get here quick enough for Wannstedt.

Thumbs Up to: Navy. After a stellar 2004 season, Navy continues its push forward scheduling Maryland and Stanford in the first two games. Though they lost each contest, the Midshipmen were competitive and will pull out those wins in the future. The expectations are raised and you have to wonder when Army will follow suit with their scheduling. Navy, your wins are coming. 8-3 finish.

Thumbs Down to: Anyone ejected from a NFL game during warm-ups. Nothing else needs to be said.

Thumbs Up to: Georgia Tech. Hopefully, the Yellow Jackets can prove a worthy rival to the SEC power 70 miles down the road come November. And don't think revenge isn't on the mind when they travel to Blacksburg to face the Hokies in two weeks.

HUGE Thumbs Down to: Golf Coaches in Montana. At a recent high school tournament, lightning struck a player requiring immediate CPR efforts. USA Today reports that four high school coaches stood feet away yet none knew how to perform CPR. One of the school bus drivers revived the boy before medical personnel took over.

Question - Will Miami start 0-2 with Larry Coker losing to not one, but two Bowdens?

Big Games: The obvious UT/FLA, but then don't forget Boston where BC hosts FSU. And look for Death Valley and the Clemson Tigers to offer warm hospitality for the Hurricanes.

Final observation - look for weeks three and four to really separate the pretenders from the contenders as the "guarantee" games end and the conference battles begin. Four SEC teams in the top seven is nice, but beating up on each other will eventually cause several to fall back.